USELESS INFO ABOUT SPACE
Added on: 20th Oct 2016
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE EARTH
STOPPED SPINNING
Though gravity keeps us with our feet on the planet’s surface,
if standing on the equator, we’re each shooting through
space at 1,040 miles per hour (1,674 kmh). A transoceanic
Boeing 777 can only reach top speeds of 590 miles per hour.
If the Earth magically stopped spinning, we wouldn’t all be
hurtled into space, though, as Earth’s escape velocity is
25,020 miles per hour (40,000 kmh).
OUR GALAXY IS ABOUT TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER ONE
Well, “about to crash” could be relative. The Andromeda Galaxy
is on a collision course for our own at a speed of 68 miles per
second (110 km/s). Despite the speed, this space fact is pretty
irrelevant as it won’t happen for another four billion years.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE KIMCHI EVER MADE
One of South Korea’s best known culinary exports, kimchi
was brought aboard the International Space Station in 2008
by astronaut Yi So-yeon. Before he blasted off with the pickled
cabbage, the South Korean government spent over a million
dollars to ensure the smell wouldn’t be too acrid for the
other astronauts.
METAL CAN INSTANTLY FUSE IN SPACE
A useless space fact for anyone who’s not a space welder,
if two particles or pieces of the same kind of metal (e.g.
aluminium, copper, etc.) come into contact while in space,
they will immediately fuse together. Referred to as cold
welding, the objects will bond because their atoms have
nothing in between (such as air or water) to hold them apart.
THE LASTING FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON
Any footprint which astronauts who have landed on the moon
left in the lunar surface will remain there for millions of years.
Since the moon has no atmosphere, neither wind nor
water can wipe the prints off.
THE SUN ALSO ORBITS ANOTHER BODY
Though we generally only think of the planets orbiting the sun,
our most famous star is also in orbit, around the centre
of the Milky Way Galaxy.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW HOW MANY STARS EXIST
Astronomers are able to estimate, with a huge margin of error,
how many stars are in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
This number stands between 200-400 billion stars. We’re
constantly discovering new galaxies and, with billions of
galaxies expected to exist, it’s impossible to estimate
the number of stars in the universe.
HUMAN ASHES IN SPACE
Over 100 humans have had their ashes launched into space,
including Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek creator) and
Timothy Leary (an American psychologist and advocate for
psychedelic drugs). Clyde Tombaugh was the first person
to discover Pluto and his ashes will have been the first to
leave the solar system after passing by Pluto in 2015.
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